What Happened on Beale Street by Mary Ellis — Book Review

Great romantic suspense from author Mary Ellis.

Five stars from me *****

Niki Price, who has recently been promoted to partner in her cousin Nate’s private investigation firm in New Orleans, gets a call from an old friend, Danny Andre. He’s in desperate trouble and begs her to help. She doesn’t take him seriously until it’s too late.

Nate and Niki go to Memphis to investigate the murder, with the help of Danny’s sister, Isabelle. Unpleasant experiences between Nate and Isabelle from high school, and her continued haughtiness, create extra tension. However, Niki and Isabelle get along fine.

Between them, they discover Danny was a sax player in clubs on Beale Street, but that’s about all they can find out. Gradually, the truth begins to come up, revealing Danny as a good Samaritan who would help anyone in need. So why would someone kill him? What really happened on Beale Street the night Danny died?

When Niki oversteps her boundaries with the Memphis police, Nate asks her to stay out of the investigation. While putting in time at the hotel where her rich fiancé has them staying, she unearths another mystery, one from many years ago. Add to that a man who is stalking Isabelle and the tension ratchets up considerably.

Although the book deals with serious subjects, the mood is light, mostly due to Niki’s wacky sense of humor, and the surprising and sometimes unethical situations she finds herself in.

I really enjoyed this book. The humor is an effective offset to the murder and the street life. There are a lot of relationships between opposites. Niki comes from a normal home while her fiancé is wealthy. Niki, young and pretty, loves seniors and takes time to listen to them and care for them. Isabelle covers her fears and insecurities with haughtiness, but Niki finds her heart and helps her through her struggles.

I didn’t realize until I was halfway through this book that it is a sequel. The first book in the Secrets of the South Mysteries is called Midnight on the Mississippi, and I plan to read it as soon as I can. The fact that I didn’t know this was the second book shows the author did a good job seguing into the sequel.